October 2015

September 2016

Principal Matthew Lennon drops bombshell by quiting just 18 months into the job

November 2016

Building work on school's permanent home is completed

February 2017

Former Plymouth Raiders basketball star Mark Cahill appointed as new principal, taking over from interim boss Christopher Chisholm

January 2018

School is named as one of seven Plymouth schools which are under-performing

April 2018

Plymouth Studio School announces it is to close, as a damning Ofsted report looms.

“I have and will continue to work with the local authority, who are running a consultation to answer questions and reiterate their commitment to support the families affected going forwards, as well as the Regional School Commissioner and Department of Education.

Part of the consultation process involved robust assessment of the ability for the local authority to ensure that they could meet the needs of the children affected and given the current surplus of secondary school placements in Plymouth, it was felt this could be done.”

Plymouth Studio School said that following discussions with the Regional Schools Commissioner’s (RSC) office and the Department for Education, a “decision in principle” has been made to shut the school, which was set up on land neighbouring Plymouth Marjon University to train the sports stars of tomorrow.

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It is anticipated the school will close in September 2018 after the decision is approved by the Minister for Schools.

Plymouth Studio School, like other studio schools across the country, has faced significant challenges regarding its viability, and will be the 19th studio school to close since the model’s inception.

These challenges have been compounded by the outcome of a recent Ofsted inspection, which rated the school as “inadequate”.

The report, which will be published shortly, identifies a number of fundamental areas for improvement and while it was recognised that the current management team at the school has made some improvements, unfortunately insufficient timely progress has been made.